Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
In 1804 Kent, England, John Bugg shows his spouse Konstanze a book filled with naked women in bondage. He expects that to heat her blood to the boiling point and gets his riding crop to add to the fun. Unable to deal with her husband's perversions, Konstanze leaves.
She travels to Penperro on the Cornish coast where Tom Trewella watches her come out of the sea. In desperate need of tricking the crown's Preventive Water Guards so he can continue his smuggling operation, Tom hatches a wild idea. He offers Konstanze the role of a mermaid, a part she cannot resist though she knows she must stay hidden from Buggs. An attraction between Tom and Konstanze was not expected, but feelings of love further disrupt the con game.
THE MERMAID OF PENPERRO is not the typical regency romance as it reads as if PT Barnum decided to write a novel using Lisa Cach's cache of talent. The story line is superb, amusing, and quite entertaining as Tom, Konstanze, and the townsfolk try to pull off a scam. Anyone who relishes something unique and different in their reading material will find this historical a top choice.